The Villainess Enjoys Her Seventh Life as a Free-Spirited Bride (hostage) in a Former Enemy Country

It wasn’t like she was going to do something special, so what did he mean something more?

However, any grandiose means might let people know of his scars.

These scars were the only blemish of Arnold, a god-like swordsman.

Now that I think about it, Raul also mentioned this in my life as a hunter.

Five years in the future, the Sigwell Kingdom would wage war against Garkhain.

After Harriet emptied the national treasury and was executed, they joined the Fabranian side as compensation for the engagement.

At that time, the group of hunters to which Rishe belonged was also mobilized as a force of the royal family.

However, Rishe and her companions were not used on the battlefield. They were ordered to enter the forest in the front lines and reduce the enemy’s strength as much as possible while conducting espionage.

At that time, Raul, who was peering through a monocle in the shade of a rock, muttered in an inaudible voice.

[…Arnold Hein may be wounded.]

His words startled the hunters, including Rishe.

He carefully considered the direction of the sunlight and other factors so that the reflection of the lens would not be noticed, and that was how he was finally able to confirm it.

As soon as Raul took a glance, he suddenly said something like that.

[Raul, are you sure he’s wounded?]

[Yes. Maybe on the left side of his body…the upper half? Someone might have wounded him.]

In hindsight, the injury that Raul discovered might have been the scars on his neck.

Rishe didn’t understand it at the time, and she never discovered it in her life as a knight. It was only in this life that she found out through those two lifetimes.

But Raul said with a tone of conviction.

[If we aim for his left side, we might be able to take Arnold Hein down.―― All hands, ready your poisoned arrows. He’s been able to fend off all the arrows on the battlefield, but we’ll catch him off guard now.]

At his command, all of his friends notched their arrows.

The poisoned arrows that were fired several days ago to stop Arnold Hein were all blocked by his sword. The reason Raul ordered this was so that he would not miss the opportunity when he was injured.

(Arnold Hein is a hundred meters away. It’s downwind, so there’s no way he could have heard us… but I have a bad feeling about this…)

Rishe felt a strange stirring in her chest and looked into the monocle once more.

The next moment, she gasped.

[――?!]

She thought she saw blue eyes looking straight at me.

She was horrified, and then realized immediately that she wasn’t imagining. Arnold Hein was definitely looking in their direction.

[Guys, wait…]

[Rishe?]

[Arnold Hein is aware of us. You can’t hit him with an arrow.]

When they heard this, tension rose around her.

Depending on Arnold Hein’s movements, they would be surrounded by enemy knights. Rishe stared at the man in the lens almost with bated breath.

Arnold Hein quietly squinted.

Then, with dark eyes, he smiled with only his lips. After that, he tapped his left chest with his thumb.

His heart was there.

He showed it to Rishe as if provoking her to shoot through.

For whatever reason, Arnold Hein didn’t attack them aggressively back then, so they were able to get out of the line of fire.

Rishe looked up at Arnold again, who was now next to her, and thought absentmindedly.

I wonder what would have happened if I had shot him in the heart back then.

Perhaps Rishe would not have died in her fifth life and would have celebrated her twenty-first birthday.

But she couldn’t imagine much of that.

…It’s no use thinking about a future that might never occur. In the end, the shadow Elise and the others saw yesterday may be one of the hunters.

Rishe cleared her thoughts with a mysterious look on her face.

Can break into the room through the window, walk soundlessly, and eliminate any signs of his presence. That can’t be a normal person, but those people aren’t normal.

Considering the alleyway altercation yesterday and Raul earlier, it made the most sense that it was them.

And if the culprit was one of the hunters, the trap I set would be meaningless. Those people would be able to detect if something like that was set up, and in fact Raul had already noticed it.

However, the only thing that kept Rishe from thinking it was a ghost was the fact that the maids heard the windows closing.

She wondered if the rusty hinges could be heard or if the maids could see them…

The more she thought about it, the more the possibility of it being a ghost flashed through her mind. However, she couldn’t stop dwelling on it.

“…”

Suddenly, Arnold touched Rishe’s left hand.

“Your Highness?”

Without replying, his hand traced over the edges of her sapphire ring.

Yesterday, you touched my ring like this.

He didn’t seem to have any intention of tickling Rishe, but what reason could he have?

She didn’t mind but it made her flustered.

Rishe fidgeted, but suddenly remembered what Arnold had said yesterday.

[Is goldsmithing a Koyor craftsmanship? It’s such fine workmanship, and yet it’s so well polished.]

Could it be that His Highness Arnold…

At the same time, Arnold called out her name.

“Rishe.”

“Yes?”

She looked up at Arnold, trying to act normal so he couldn’t see through her thoughts.

“The rain has stopped.”

“Oh, you’re right.”

As if the heavy rain that had just fallen was a lie, the sky she could see from their window was clear. The air was cooler than in the morning, and the white sunlight was very bright.

“Do you have any official business this afternoon? Or diplomacy plans with His Highness Curtis and the others…”

“No. If it is possible, there is a place I would like to take you.”

“Me?”

Arnold stood up and extended his hand towards Rishe.

“Shall we go out?”

Surprised by the unexpected invitation, Rishe nodded and took his hand.

***

“Wow …”

Rishe, who had changed into a light summer dress and wearing a white sunshade hat, cheered with a basket of drinks in her hand.

“Hey, don’t run on the beach. You’ll trip.”

“Sorry, I’m just…”

Arnold admonished behind me, but she couldn’t contain her excitement.

“The beach…!”

Her eyes glistened as the sea stretched before her.

TL: Yayyy, another date…